Portland-South Portland, ME

Across all occupations in the Portland-South Portland, ME metropolitan area, the median wage is $56,960 a year ($27.39 an hour) and the mean $70,020, May 2025. That median is +12% against the US median of $50,980 and +11% against Maine's $51,430. BLS counts 288,480 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is radiologists; the largest is retail salespersons.

All occupations: Portland-South Portland, ME vs Maine and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Portland-South Portland, ME area, Maine and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Portland-South Portland, ME	Hourly	$17.36	$20.84	$27.39	$38.40	$54.21	$33.66	288,480
Portland-South Portland, ME	Annual	$36,100	$43,350	$56,960	$79,880	$112,760	$70,020	288,480
Maine	Hourly	$16.89	$19.29	$24.73	$36.65	$50.72	$31.63	640,610
Maine	Annual	$35,140	$40,120	$51,430	$76,230	$105,510	$65,780	640,610
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

498 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: Maine. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Portland-South Portland, ME

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Radiologists	$578,230	$278.00	**
2	Physicians, All Other	$442,790	$212.88	690
3	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$438,700	$210.91	40
4	Anesthesiologists	$438,550	$210.84	100
5	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$337,850	$162.43	60
6	Orthodontists	$323,460	$155.51	**
7	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$304,390	$146.34	150
8	Psychiatrists	$300,180	$144.32	30
9	Nurse Anesthetists	$256,620	$123.38	190
10	Pediatricians, General	$245,920	$118.23	80
11	Family Medicine Physicians	$237,200	$114.04	370
12	Dentists, General	$221,190	$106.34	150
13	Chief Executives	$176,000	$84.62	600
14	Sales Managers	$174,990	$84.13	**
15	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Maine	$167,100	$80.34	700
16	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$164,530	$79.10	490
17	Optometrists	$161,220	$77.51	100
18	Natural Sciences Managers	$155,080	$74.56	240
19	Purchasing Managers	$142,240	$68.38	100
20	Pharmacists	$140,620	$67.61	620

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Portland-South Portland, ME

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Retail Salespersons in Maine	8,510	29.51	1.18	$37,320
2	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Maine	8,150	28.24	1.02	$38,580
3	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Maine	8,040	27.87	1.12	$35,300
4	General and Operations Managers in Maine	7,160	24.83	1.10	$105,390
5	Registered Nurses in Maine	6,970	24.15	1.11	$88,470
6	Cashiers in Maine	5,610	19.44	0.98	$36,210
7	Waiters and Waitresses in Maine	5,070	17.57	1.20	$44,070
8	Stockers and Order Fillers in Maine	4,950	17.17	0.94	$38,930
9	Office Clerks, General in Maine	4,310	14.95	0.94	$47,040
10	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Maine	3,820	13.26	0.93	$40,460
11	Customer Service Representatives in Maine	3,480	12.06	0.72	$47,910
12	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Maine	3,440	11.91	0.90	$59,900
13	Nursing Assistants in Maine	3,380	11.70	1.26	$48,180
14	Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers in Maine	3,180	11.03	1.80	$46,670
15	Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Maine	3,170	10.98	1.20	$48,770
16	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Maine	2,930	10.15	0.92	$52,000
17	Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Maine	2,830	9.82	1.10	$76,770
18	Cooks, Restaurant in Maine	2,730	9.46	1.04	$46,560
19	Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Maine	2,670	9.25	1.05	$54,610
20	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Maine	2,610	9.03	1.25	$55,550

Most concentrated occupations in Portland-South Portland, ME

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Marine Engineers and Naval Architects	14.82	230	0.79	$104,850
2	Nuclear Engineers	13.03	370	1.28	$120,430
3	Stonemasons	8.90	130	0.45	$61,060
4	Mechanical Drafters	7.75	570	1.99	$76,360
5	Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other	6.74	750	2.60	$108,850
6	Riggers	6.65	280	0.96	$64,910
7	Insulation Workers, Mechanical	6.34	300	1.05	$63,580
8	Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters	6.10	590	2.05	$64,760
9	Biochemists and Biophysicists	6.03	380	1.31	$84,490
10	Semiconductor Processing Technicians	5.46	320	1.10	$47,270

Occupation groups in Portland-South Portland, ME

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$113,880	$130,630	21,780	75.51	1.05
Architecture and Engineering	$99,200	$100,930	7,190	24.93	1.48
Computer and Mathematical	$96,940	$102,740	7,200	24.96	0.74
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$94,780	$122,170	19,780	68.58	1.09
Legal	$89,930	$114,040	2,220	7.70	0.92
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$81,310	$85,530	2,420	8.39	0.89
Business and Financial Operations	$80,970	$91,330	17,470	60.56	0.89
Construction and Extraction	$63,120	$65,370	15,060	52.20	1.26
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$62,090	$65,660	11,960	41.46	1.06
Educational Instruction and Library	$61,410	$68,150	16,730	57.99	0.99
Community and Social Service	$58,230	$62,040	5,850	20.29	1.18
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$56,350	$65,080	3,640	12.63	0.96
Production	$54,180	$57,630	16,160	56.00	1.02
Protective Service	$52,300	$57,680	5,160	17.87	0.74
Office and Administrative Support	$49,810	$54,260	31,590	109.49	0.96
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$49,490	$54,260	190	0.67	0.24
Transportation and Material Moving	$46,210	$49,250	19,150	66.39	0.75
Healthcare Support	$44,660	$45,680	15,740	54.55	1.07
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$43,700	$44,640	10,100	35.02	1.20
Sales and Related	$41,150	$52,970	24,590	85.24	0.99
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$38,170	$44,660	26,880	93.17	1.06
Personal Care and Service	$38,150	$44,240	7,620	26.40	1.26

Every occupation in Maine, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 498 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Portland-South Portland, ME estimates (area 38860).

*: Wage estimate not available.
**: Employment estimate not available.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Portland-South Portland, ME area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.